James range



(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

' J. RANGE- MAGHINETORI GLIPPING LA CB,&G., No. 353,587, Patented Nov.30, 1886.

N PETERS. Pmwumn n hu. Wahingion. D. C.

(No Model.) 7 5 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. RANGE.

MACHINE FOR GLIPPING LA 0B,& Iva-353,587. I Patented N0 30, 1886 N.FETERS, PlwhrUlhograpMr. Wrnhing'on. D. C.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. RANGE.

MACHINE FOR GLIPPING LAGE,&0.

No. 353,587. Patented Nov.- 30, 1886.

iii/enter WihSSS N. PETERS. PMwLithngnphcr. Wmhinglon, l7v C.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet J. RANGE.

MACHINE FOR GLIP'PING LAoE,&c-. No. 353,587. Patented Nov. 30,1886.

N. PETERi Plmtn-L'rlfwgmphsr, Walhingmn. I10.

m finesses tNoModel.) 5 shets-sheet 5.

J. -RANGE.

MACHINE FOR GLIPPING LA0E,&0. No.'853,587. Patented Nov. 30, 1886.

- I v Ewan/2501'. Wjbmssw 2/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES RANGE, OF NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLCOX & GIBBSSEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR CLIPPING LACE, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,587, dated November30, 1886.

Application filed April 26, 1884. Serial No.129A60.

(No model.) Patented in England December 31, 1884, No. 17,101 in FranceJanuary 8, 1885, No. 166,323, and in Germany January 17,1885, No.33,937.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, James RANGE, of Nottingham, England, hax e inventeda new and useful Improvement in Machines for Clipping Lace and otherFabrics, (which has been patented in Great Britain by Patent N 0.17,109, dated December 31, 1884; Germany by Patent No. 33,937. datedJanuary 17 1885, and'France by Patent No. 166,323, dated January 8,1885,) which improvement is fully set forth in following specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for clipping fromlace andotherfabrictheloose threads or floats which connect the figures witheach other. Heretofore this has been done by raising the floats or loosethreads from the fabric and then cutting the same as near as may be tothe ends where they are connected with the fabric.

In the present invention a new mode is adopted. The floats are cut atany intermediate pointsay at the middle-leaving the connection at theends with the fabric intact, and then the threads, now fastened at oneend only, are mowed off.

It is evident that a variety of means, more or less differing in detail,could be used for cuting the floats in the first instance, and also formowing off the other threads afterward. It is preferred, however, to usethe following instrumentalities:

' First. A reciprocating picker inserts itself between the float and thefabric and thus separates it from the latter, and one or more outtersthen act upon the raised float at or near where it is bent over thepicker. The picker supports the float against the action of the cutters,cooperating with them in cutting the thread. In this respect the pickerdiffers in its action from that described in my application of even dateherewith, (officially numbered 129,459,) and in my British Patent No.1,214, of 1883, which latter simply separated the float from the fabric,and did not assist in cutting the thread.

Second. The reciprocatory picker co-operating with one or more cutters,as just ex; plained, is given a rising and falling as well as a back andforth movement.

Third. The picker is provided witha blade -or cutter, which assists incutting the floats.

Fourth. The picker is moved against the co operating cutter or cuttersto sever the float,

the said cooperating cutters being held stationary. Fifth. A series ofreciprocatory pickers are used which act simultaneously upon a number ofrows of the floats, instead of on a single row, as in my aforesaidapplication and British patent.

Sixth. The series of reciprocatory pickers are divided into gangs whichact from the center toward the edge of the fabric, so that there is nodanger of the point of any picker catching the edge of the fabric. Thearrangement is also advantageous in that the pickers assist in keepingthe fabric smooth.

Seventh. Further, to assist in smoothing the fabric, the pickers areprovided with brushes which bear upon the fabric, and are movedoutwardly with the pickers as these take up or lift the float-s.

Eighth. For mowing off the cut floats a ledger-blade is combined with arotary knife which is revolved faster than the fabric is fed. The twoco-operate very likethe knife and ledger-blade of theordinarylawn-mower.

Ninth. In order to make the cut floats stick out from the fabric so asto be more certainly acted upon by the mowing apparatus the fabricimmediately in front of the ledger-blade is bent over the edge of theplate or bar.

Tenth. The ledger-blade and rotary knife extend the full width of themachine, so as to mow off at one time the several rows of floatspreviously cut by the series of pickers and cutters.

The invention further comprises the combination of the foregoingelements with each other and with other parts of the machine, as Ihereinafter set forth.

The following is considered to be the best mode of applying theprinciple of the invention.

In the drawings which form part of this specification, Figure l isa'plan of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig.2, a front elevation; Figs. 3 and 4, views in elevation from oppositeends of the machine, and Figs. 5 to 12 detail views.

A is the frame of the machine, to which is fastened by means of thescrews a the picker plate E. In this plate are slots t, into which thelace is depressed by the action of the pickers, so that theyniay getunder the floats and separate them from the body of the lace.

To the frame A is attached by means of the four stud-standards D thepicker-frame B, in

brackets or extensions of which is jonrnaled t'Je'shaft F. This shaftcarries at one end the grooved band-pulley Gand ge'arH,and between thetwobearings the nine beveled gears b. These gears engage the ninebeveled pinions 0 upon the outer ends of theshafts d, which arejournaled in the picker-frame at r-ight'angles to the shaft F. At theirforward ends each is turned down so as to form an eccentric, d, as seenin Figs; 2 and 6. These eccentrics extend into the slots d in the ninepickencarriers e and give thereto a back and forthas well as an up lowerends against the picker-carriers.

and down motion. At the lower end of the carriers 0 are attached thecutti ickers t. These picker-carriers attheir up efifiime a slotallowing them to move vertically upon the stud-screws h, the downwardmovement of the picker-carriers being effected by the spiralcompression-springs 2'. These bear at their upper ends against thescrewsh, and at their They cause the carriers to descend with theeccentrics d.

When itis desired to put the pickers out of action, the eccentriclifters j, attached to the upper end of the picker-carriers, are liftedinto avertical position, when the eccentrics d merely produce a sidewisebut no endwise niovement'of the pickers. This arrangement is provided inorder to prevent the action of the pickers upon the lace at any desiredpoint,

or, in case the lace is narrower than the ma-.

chine,to avoid the unnecessary wearing of the cuttingedges by theiracting together when there is no necessity for their doing so.

The frame B is held to the standards D by means of the nuts D at theback end, and'at the forward end by the countersunk nuts D.-

In Fig. 2 a portion of the front plate, 0, to which are attached thestationary blades 9, by means of screws 9, is broken away, so as to showthe construction and action of the picker-carriers in relation to theeccentrics and springs, as before described.

It will be observed that the pickers and the stationary blades which actin connection with them are so arranged, as seen in plan, Fig. 1,

. that they stand in zigzag or diagonal lines, be-

ginning at the center of the machine and running forward and toward eachside. By this arrangement, combined with the crosswise movement of thepickers, the whole surface of the lace is successively covered by theaction of the pickers, and the same surface is acted on, one or moretimes in succession by the pickers, according to the speedwith'which thefabric is fed through the machine. A slow feed is preferred, so as togive the pickers more than one chance to get under and separate thefloats from the lace before it has passed beyond them. The pickers movewhen in action in an elliptical course with the longest axis horizontal,and as the picker advances 1 to take up a float its upper or cuttingsurface passes, as will be seen in Fig. 11, about even with or slightlybelow the upper surface of the pickerplate. This action'bends the bodyof the lace down into the sloti, as seen in Fig. 12, and, by drawing thelace, tends to bow the float up and away from the lace and allow thepicker to get under it. The continued forward and upward movementof'the'picker brings the float in contact with the upper stationaryblade, 9, and severs it.

The stationary blades are attached rigidly to the face-plate O by meansof the upper screw, g, while the lower screw is used to spring the bladeinto proper contact with the picker t. (For the shape of the stationarycutters see Fig. 8.) Each picker t has the cutting-edge in the plane ofthe side adjacent to the co-operating cutter 9, (see Fig. 12,) and thusconstitutes a shear cutter or blade of a pair of shears, (the cutter 9being the other shear-blade.)

The rotary knife J, which is journaled in bearings adjustable in slotsin the frame A, is given a rotary movement by means of the gear Iengaging with gear H on main shaft F.

The feed-rolls O and P are turned with a slower motion through the gearsand pinions KL M N, at the right-hand end of themachine. At theleft-hand endthc two feed-rolls machine which are suspended from thestudscrews q q, and the rolls are held in contact with each other bymeans of the spiral tension-springs Q Q. The rotary cutter or knife IIOJ acts against the ledger blade S, which, as v shown in dotted lines inthe two side elevations, Figs. 3 and 4, is kept in contact with therotary cutter by the small bow-springs-s s* one on each side of themachine. blade or stationary knife S is pivoted by means of theconical-pointed screws S S to the adjustable hanging pieces S, which areattached by screws tothe frame A.

The arrangement of the rotary knife and ledger-blade in relation to eachother and to thecorner of frame A,over the edgeof which the lace isdrawn in its passage to the'feedrolls 0 and P, is clearly shown in Fig.12. The

The led gereffect of bending the lace over the edge of' frame A, astherein shown, is to cause the severedfloats as they pass over the edgeto project out substantially at right angles to the As itis desired topass the lace slowly through the machine, so that the pickers may havesev eral opportunities to pick up each float the feed-rolls are madetoturn quite slowly by the arrangement of gearing shown, where pinion Kupon the cutter-shaft J engages in gear L, to which is firmly attachedthe pinion M, both turning upon the stud M, attached to the frame of themachine, which pinion in turn engages the gear N, attached directly tothe feed-roll O.

. The rotary knife or cutter J, as will be seen, can be adjusted forwear or to bring it nearer to or farther from the corner of bed A, nearwhich it passes, by means of the adjustingscrews It, on which the lowerhalf of the journal-box Z rests. The upper journal-box, m, is adjustedin contact with the cutter-shaft J by means of screws m.

Attached to each picker-carrier e is an arm carrying a brush, 0'. Thebrush is placed in front of the picker-point, and when the picker isforced down it presses upon the fabric, and when the picker is movedoutwardit is moved in thesame direction and smooths and stretchesmovable.

It will be observed that owing to the arrangement of beveled gears andpinions which move the picker-shafts, the shafts on each sideof thecenter are given a movement in opposite directions, as shown by thearrows. In this way the pickers are caused in their downward movement towork from the center toward the edge of the lace.

The front end of the picker-frame B is made in a succession of steps,and the face-plate G is also arranged in the same manner, space beingleft between the two for the action of the picker-carriers e, and theface-plate C supports on its outer face the stationary blades The laceor fabric passes under the heavy roller R, whose journals are held inslotted uprights or brackets, the slots being vertical, (see F gs. 2 and3,) so that it will press upon the lace.

It is evident that modifications may be made in details withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and that parts of theinvention may be used separately.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner of carryingthe same into effect, what I claim is 1. The combination, with thefabric supporting and feeding mechanism, of devices movable over saidfabric for lifting and cutting the loose threads thereon independentlyof the feed movement, means for operating said devices and mechanism formowing off the cut threads, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with mechanism for supporting and feeding lace orother fabric, of mechanism comprising reciprocating pickers and cuttersfor cutting the floats or loose threads and mechanism for mowing off thepieces of said threads so out. which remain attached by one endto thefabric, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with one or more reciprocatory pickers having arising and falling as well as a back and forth movement over the fabric,of mechanism for advancing the said pickers when depressed and for thenlifting the same away from the fabric, and one or more blades or cuttersplaced above the liltingiiugers, so that the floats on thelifting-fingers are pressed between the latter and the said blades orcutters and severed by their conjoint action without tearing orstraining the lace, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the cutting-picker with mechanism for moving thesaid picker and the stationary cooperating cutter, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with means for supporting and feeding lace or otherfabric, of a series of reciprocatory cutting-pickers and theirco-opcrating cutters supported in a row across the line of feed, andmechanism for operating said pickers simultaneously, so as to lift awayfrom the fabric and cut a series of floating threads, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination, with means for supporting and feeding lace or otherfabric, of a series of reciproeatory pickers divided into gangs, thepickers of each gang having the fingers which take up the floatsdirected away from the center, and operating mechanism for Inoving thepickers in the two gangs separately, substantially as described.

ICC

7. The combination of the brushes with the series of pickers andoperating mechanism, substantially as described.

8. The combination,with the series of pickers and their carrierssupported across the machine, of the series of shafts of unequal length,the eccentrics at the end of said shafts for operating saidpicker-carriers, the main crossshaft, and the gearing for operating theseries of shafts from said main shaft, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the series of pickers and the mechanism foroperating thesame, of the slotted picker-plate, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination of the machine-frame, pickerplate, picker-frame,pickers, picker carriers, springs for forcing down the pickercarriers,series of parallel shafts, eccentrics on said shafts fitting in slots insaid carriers, and mechanism for revolving said shafts, substantially asdescribed.

11. The combination of the following elements: machine-frame,picker-plate, pickerframe, series of cutting pickers, operating cutters,mowing mechanism comprising 1'0- tary knife and mechanism for revolvingthe same, and ledger-blade, feed-rolls, and mechanism for revolving saidrolls to feed slowly 5 the lace or other fabric, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

JAMES RANGE.

Witnesses: CHAS. H. WILLCOX,

HENRY B. ROsE.

